Saturday, December 3, 2016

Mixed Bag 5 - Zakus and Napoleonic Naval Ships

Lately, my hobby projects have been pretty scattershot - I feel like I'm cleaning up several small projects while trying to prep for a couple bigger ones in the future. At the moment I'm working on a new 15mm scifi army, finishing up a Space Marine force from Assault on Blackreach, expanding my Genestealer forces from Deathwatch: Overkill into a full army, and trying to find the time to start assembling my copy of Burning of Prospero. And that's just what I can think of off the top of my head. My desk is boiling over with a myriad of other little projects that I want to get around to. I thought I'd share two today.

A pair of Zeon mobile suits ready to cause trouble for Earth.

First up is a pair of Zakus from the Mobile Suit Gundam universe. While I've always like the Gundam aesthetic and I've started several of the model kits in the past, I've never finished one. I find them way too intricate and tedious to build. My enjoyment comes primarily from the painting of models, and the longer this is delayed, the less interested I am. These Zaku kits solve that problem for me by coming pre-built and pre-painted. Technically, they are 1/200 scale toys (they stand about 4" tall) and come fully articulated with multiple weapon load outs. All I really need to do is grime them up with some weathering and then attach them to a gaming base.

A basic Zaku II carrying a machine-gun and a pair of missile pods.

These models were given a shot of Dullcote to provide some "tooth" forwashes and dry-brushing to adhere to before adding paint.

The idea of a giant robit carrying bazooka strikes me as suchoverkill that I end up loving this guy most of all.

I opted for mounting them on clear acrylic bases from Litko so that I could use themin ground or space battles with no work.

I've got one more Zaku to do (the infamous Red Comet piloted by MSG villain extraordinaire Char Anazable) and a few Earth Force mobile suits on the way. I plan on creating some quick and simple rules to use for a multiplayer game. Hopefully that should be a lot of fun.

3 French Frigates on the prowl. I still need to add rigging to the models, but for nowthey are certainly game ready.

I've also been working on some 1:1200 Napoleonic sailing ships for use of Osprey Publishing's Fighting Sail rules. While I've always wanted to play naval games set in the period, most of the rule systems are hobbies unto themselves and I really just want to dip my toes into the water, so to speak. Fighting Sail seems simple and abstract enough that even a land-lubber like me can grasp them and have a fun afternoon of quoting "Master & Commander: Far Side of the World" in my best Russel Crowe impression.

The first two ships are metal castings from GHQ. The last frigate is a plastic pre-painted model thatI shaded and highlighted from the Sails of Glory game. Both manufacturers mix pretty well.

I've still got two more French Ships of the Line to paint before working on some scenery. My buddy Ron is going to squeeze a British naval force into his painting queue so we should be able to try the game out eventually.